Cynthio
designed her. As soon as he believed
Robin
was posted, he drove by
Flavia's
Lodgings in an Hackney-Coach and a Woman in it.
Robin
was at the Door talking with
Flavia's
Maid, and
Cynthio
pulled up the Glass as surprized, and hid his Associate. The Report of this Circumstance soon flew up Stairs, and
Robin
could not deny but the Gentleman favoured his Master; yet if it was he, he was sure the Lady was but his Cousin whom he had seen ask for him; adding that he believed she was a poor Relation, because they made her wait one Morning till he was awake.
Flavia
immediately writ the following Epistle, which
Robin
brought to
Wills'
June 4, 1712.Sir,It is in vain to deny it, basest, falsest of Mankind; my Maid, as well as the Bearer, saw you.The injur'd Flavia.
After
Cynthio
had read the Letter, he asked
Robin
how she looked, and what she said at the Delivery of it.
Robin
said she spoke short to him, and called him back again, and had nothing to say to him, and bid him and all the Men in the World go out of her Sight; but the Maid followed, and bid him bring an Answer.
Cynthio
returned as follows.
June 4, Three Afternoon, 1712.Madam,That your Maid and the Bearer has seen me very often is very certain; but I desire to know, being engaged at Picket, what your Letter means by 'tis in vain to deny it. I shall stay here all the Evening.Your amazed Cynthio.
As soon as
Robin
arrived with this,
Flavia
answered:
Dear Cynthio,I have walked a Turn or two in my Anti-Chamber since I writ to you, and have recovered my self from an impertinent Fit which you ought to forgive me, and desire you would come to me immediately to laugh off a Jealousy that you and a Creature of the Town went by in an Hackney-Coach an Hour ago. I am Your most humble Servant,FlaviaI will not open the Letter which myCynthiowrit, upon the Misapprehension you must have been under when you writ, for want of hearing the whole Circumstance.
Robin
came back in an Instant, and
Cynthio
answered:
Half Hour, six Minutes after Three,June 4. Will's Coffee-house.Madam, It is certain I went by your Lodgings with a Gentlewoman to whom I have the Honour to be known, she is indeed my Relation, and a pretty sort of Woman. But your starting Manner of Writing, and owning you have not done me the Honour so much as to open my Letter, has in it something very unaccountable, and alarms one that has had Thoughts of passing his Days with you. But I am born to admire you with all your little Imperfections.Cynthio.
Robin
run back, and brought for Answer;
Exact Sir, that are at Will's Coffee-house six Minutes after Three, June 4; one that has had Thoughts and all my little Imperfections. Sir, come to me immediately, or I shall determine what may perhaps not be very pleasing to you.Flavia
Robin
gave an Account that she looked excessive angry when she gave him the Letter; and that he told her, for she asked, that
Cynthio
only looked at the Clock, taking Snuff, and writ two or three Words on the Top of the Letter when he gave him his.
Now the Plot thickened so well, as that
Cynthio
saw he had not much more to do to accomplish being irreconciliably banished, he writ,
Madam,I have that Prejudice in Favour of all you do, that it is not possible for you to determine upon what will not be very pleasing to Your Obedient Servant,Cynthio.
This was delivered, and the Answer returned, in a little more than two Seconds.
Sir,Is it come to this? You never loved me; and the Creature you were with is the properest Person for your Associate. I despise you, and hope I shall soon hate you as a Villain toThe Credulous Flavia.
Robin ran back, with
Madam,Your Credulity when you are to gain your Point, and Suspicion when you fear to lose it make it a very hard Part to behave as becomes Your humble Slave,Cynthio.
Robin whipt away, and returned with,
Mr. Wellford,FlaviaandCynthioare no more. I relieve you from the hard Part of which you complain, and banish you from my Sight for ever.Ann Heart.
Robin
had a Crown for his Afternoon's Work; and this is published to admonish
Cecilia
to avenge the Injury done to
Flavia
.
T.
Contents
Ut nemo in sese tentat descendere!Pers.translation
Hypocrisie
, at the fashionable End of the Town, is very different from Hypocrisie in the City. The modish Hypocrite endeavours to appear more vicious than he really is, the other kind of Hypocrite more virtuous. The former is afraid of every thing that has the Shew of Religion in it, and would be thought engaged in many Criminal Gallantries and Amours, which he is not guilty of. The latter assumes a Face of Sanctity, and covers a Multitude of Vices under a seeming Religious Deportment.
But there is another kind of Hypocrisie, which differs from both these, and which I intend to make the Subject of this Paper: I mean that Hypocrisie, by which a Man does not only deceive the World, but very often imposes on himself; That Hypocrisie, which conceals his own Heart from him, and makes him believe he is more virtuous than he really is, and either not attend to his Vices, or mistake even his Vices for Virtues. It
is
this fatal Hypocrisie and Self-deceit, which is taken notice of in those Words,
Who can understand his Errors? cleanse thou me from secret Faults
1
.
If the open Professors of Impiety deserve the utmost Application and Endeavours of Moral Writers to recover them from Vice and Folly, how much more may those lay a Claim to their Care and Compassion, who are walking in the Paths of Death, while they fancy themselves engaged in a Course of Virtue! I shall endeavour, therefore, to lay down some Rules for the Discovery of those Vices that lurk in the secret Corners of the Soul, and to show my Reader those Methods by which he may arrive at a true and impartial Knowledge of himself. The usual Means prescribed for this Purpose, are to examine our selves by the Rules which are laid down for our Direction in Sacred Writ, and to compare our Lives with the Life of that Person who acted up to the Perfection of Human Nature, and is the standing Example, as well as the great Guide and Instructor, of those who receive his Doctrines. Though these two Heads cannot be too much insisted upon, I shall but just mention them, since they have been handled by many Great and Eminent Writers.
I would therefore propose the following Methods to the Consideration of such as would find out their secret Faults, and make a true Estimate of themselves.
In the first Place, let them consider well what are the Characters which they bear among their Enemies. Our Friends very often flatter us, as much as our own Hearts. They either do not see our Faults, or conceal them from us, or soften them by their Representations, after such a manner, that we think them too trivial to be taken notice of. An Adversary, on the contrary, makes a stricter Search into us, discovers every Flaw and Imperfection in our Tempers, and though his Malice may set them in too strong a Light, it has generally some Ground for what it advances. A Friend exaggerates a Man's Virtues, an Enemy inflames his Crimes. A Wise Man should give a just Attention to both of them, so far as they may tend to the Improvement of the one, and Diminution of the other.
Plutarch
has written an Essay on the Benefits which a Man may receive from his Enemies
2
, and, among the good Fruits of Enmity, mentions this in particular, that by the Reproaches which it casts upon us we see the worst side of our selves, and open our Eyes to several Blemishes and Defects in our Lives and Conversations, which we should not have observed, without the Help of such ill-natured Monitors.
In order likewise to come at a true Knowledge of our selves, we should consider on the other hand how far we may deserve the Praises and Approbations which the World bestow upon us: whether the Actions they celebrate proceed from laudable and worthy Motives; and how far we are really possessed of the Virtues which gain us Applause among those with whom we converse. Such a Reflection is absolutely necessary, if we consider how apt we are either to value or condemn ourselves by the Opinions of others, and to sacrifice the Report of our own Hearts to the Judgment of the World.
In the next Place, that we may not deceive our selves in a Point of so much Importance, we should not lay too great a Stress on any supposed Virtues we possess that are of a doubtful Nature: And such we may esteem all those in which Multitudes of Men dissent from us, who are as good and wise as our selves. We should always act with great Cautiousness and Circumspection in Points, where it is not impossible that we may be deceived. Intemperate Zeal, Bigotry and Persecution for any Party or Opinion, how praiseworthy soever they may appear to weak Men of our own Principles, produce infinite Calamities among Mankind, and are highly Criminal in their own Nature; and yet how many Persons eminent for Piety suffer such monstrous and absurd Principles of Action to take Root in their Minds under the Colour of Virtues? For my own Part, I must own I never yet knew any Party so just and reasonable, that a Man could follow it in its Height and Violence, and at the same time be innocent.
We should likewise be very apprehensive of those Actions which proceed from natural Constitution, favourite Passions, particular Education, or whatever promotes our worldly Interest or Advantage. In these and the like Cases, a Man's Judgment is easily perverted, and a wrong Bias hung upon his Mind. These are the Inlets of Prejudice, the unguarded Avenues of the Mind, by which a thousand Errors and secret Faults find Admission,
without
being observed or taken Notice of. A wise Man will suspect those Actions to which he is directed by something
besides
3
Reason, and always apprehend some concealed Evil in every Resolution that is of a disputable Nature, when it is conformable to his particular Temper, his Age, or Way of Life, or when it favours his Pleasure or his Profit.
There is nothing of greater Importance to us than thus diligently to sift our Thoughts, and examine all these dark Recesses of the Mind, if we would establish our Souls in such a solid and substantial Virtue as will turn to Account in that great Day, when it must stand the Test of infinite Wisdom and Justice.
I shall conclude this Essay with observing that the two kinds of Hypocrisie I have here spoken of, namely that of deceiving the World, and that of imposing on our selves, are touched with wonderful Beauty in
the hundred and thirty ninth Psalm
. The Folly of the first kind of Hypocrisie is there set forth by Reflections on God's Omniscience and Omnipresence, which are celebrated in as noble Strains of Poetry as any other I ever met with, either Sacred or Profane. The other kind of Hypocrisie, whereby a Man deceives himself, is intimated in the two last Verses, where the Psalmist addresses himself to the great Searcher of Hearts in that emphatical Petition;
Try me, O God, and seek the ground of my heart; prove me, and examine my Thoughts. Look well if there be any way of wickedness in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
L.
Footnote 1:
Psalm
xix. 12.
return to footnote mark
Footnote 2:
See note on p. 441 [Volume 1 links:
Footnote 1
of
No. 125
], vol. i.
return
Footnote 3:
more than
return
Contents
—Latet Anguis in Herba.Virg.translation
It should, methinks, preserve Modesty and its Interests in the World, that the Transgression of it always creates Offence; and the very Purposes of Wantonness are defeated by a Carriage which has in it so much Boldness, as to intimate that Fear and Reluctance are quite extinguishd in an Object which would be otherwise desirable. It was said
of
a Wit of the last Age,
{Sedley has that prevailing gentle Art,{Which, can with a resistless Charm impart{The loosest Wishes to the chastest Heart;Raise such a Conflict, kindle such a Fire,Between declining Virtue and Desire,That the poor vanquished Maid dissolves awayIn Dreams all Night, in Sighs and Tears all Day1.
This prevailing gentle Art was made up of Complaisance, Courtship, and artful Conformity to the Modesty of a Woman's Manners. Rusticity, broad Expression, and forward Obtrusion, offend those of Education, and make the Transgressors odious to all who have Merit enough to attract Regard. It is in
this
Taste that the Scenery is so beautifully ordered in the Description which
Antony
makes, in the Dialogue between him and
Dolabella
, of
Cleopatra
in her Barge.
Her Galley down the Silver Cydnos row'd;The Tackling Silk, the Streamers wav'd with Gold;The gentle Winds were lodg'd in purple Sails:Her Nymphs, like Nereids, round her Couch were placed,Where she, another Sea-born Venus, lay;She lay, and lean'd her Cheek upon her Hand,And cast a Look so languishingly sweet,As if, secure of all Beholders Hearts,Neglecting she could take 'em. Boys like CupidsStood fanning with their painted Wings the WindsThat play'd about her Face; but if she smil'd,A darting Glory seemed to blaze abroad,That Men's desiring Eyes were never weary'd,But hung upon the Object. To soft FlutesThe Silver Oars kept Time; and while they play'd,The Hearing gave new Pleasure to the Sight,And both to Thought2—
Here the Imagination is warmed with all the Objects presented, and yet there is nothing that is luscious, or what raises any Idea more loose than that of a beautiful Woman set off to Advantage. The
like
, or a more delicate and careful Spirit of Modesty, appears in the following Passage in one of Mr.
Philip's
Pastorals
3
.
Breathe soft ye Winds, ye Waters gently flow,Shield her ye Trees, ye Flowers around her grow,Ye Swains, I beg you, pass in Silence by,My Love in yonder Vale asleep does lie.
Desire is corrected when there is a Tenderness or Admiration expressed which partakes the Passion. Licentious Language has something brutal in it, which disgraces Humanity, and leaves us in the Condition of the Savages in the Field. But it may be askd to what good Use can tend a Discourse of this Kind at all? It is to alarm chaste Ears against such as have what is above called the prevailing gentle Art. Masters of that Talent are capable of cloathing their Thoughts in so soft a Dress, and something so distant from the secret Purpose of their Heart, that the Imagination of the Unguarded is touched with a Fondness which grows too insensibly to be resisted. Much Care and Concern for the Lady's Welfare, to seem afraid lest she should be annoyed by the very Air which surrounds her, and this uttered rather with kind Looks, and expressed by an Interjection, an Ah, or an Oh, at some little Hazard in moving or making a Step, than in my direct Profession of Love, are the Methods of skilful Admirers: They are honest Arts when their Purpose is such, but infamous when misapplied. It is certain that many a young Woman in this Town has had her Heart irrecoverably won, by Men who have not made one Advance which ties their Admirers, tho' the Females languish with the utmost Anxiety. I have often, by way of Admonition to my female Readers, give them Warning against agreeable Company of the other Sex, except they are well acquainted with their Characters. Women may disguise it if they think fit, and the more to do it, they may be angry at me for saying it; but I say it is natural to them, that they have no Manner of Approbation of Men, without some Degree of Love: For this Reason he is dangerous to be entertaind as a Friend or Visitant who is capable of gaining any eminent Esteem or Observation, though it be never so remote from Pretensions as a Lover. If a Man's Heart has not the Abhorrence of any treacherous Design, he may easily improve Approbation into Kindness, and Kindness into Passion. There may possibly be no manner of Love between them in the Eyes of all their Acquaintance, no it is all Friendship; and yet they may be as fond as Shepherd and Shepherdess in a Pastoral, but still the Nymph and the Swain may be to each other no other I warrant
you
, than
Pylades
and
Orestes
.
When Lucy decks with Flowers her swelling Breast,And on her Elbow leans, dissembling Rest,Unable to refrain my madding Mind,Nor Sleep nor Pasture worth my Care I find.Once Delia slept, on easie Moss reclin'd,Her lovely Limbs half bare, and rude the Wind;I smoothed her Coats, and stole a silent Kiss:Condemn me Shepherds if I did amiss4.
Such good Offices as these, and such friendly Thoughts and Concerns for one another, are what make up the Amity, as they call it, between Man and Woman.
It is the Permission of such Intercourse, that makes a young Woman come to the Arms of her Husband, after the Disappointment of four or five Passions which she has successively had for different Men, before she is prudentially given to him for whom she has neither Love nor Friendship. For what should a poor Creature do that has lost all her Friends? There's Marinet the Agreeable, has, to my Knowledge, had a Friendship for Lord
Welford
, which had like to break her Heart; then she had so great a Friendship for Colonel
Hardy
, that she could not endure any Woman else should do any thing but rail at him. Many and fatal have been Disasters between Friends who have fallen out, and their Resentments are more keen than ever those of other Men can possibly be:
But
in this it happens unfortunately, that as there ought to be nothing concealed from one Friend to another, the Friends of different Sexes
very often
5
find fatal Effects from their Unanimity.
For my Part, who study to pass Life in as much Innocence and Tranquility as I can, I shun the Company of agreeable Women as much as possible; and must confess that I have, though a tolerable good Philosopher, but a low Opinion of
Platonick
Love: for which Reason I thought it necessary to give my fair Readers a Caution against it, having, to my great Concern, observed the Waste of a
Platonist
lately swell to a Roundness which is inconsistent with that Philosophy.
T.
Footnote 1:
Rochester's
Allusion to the 10th Satire of the 1st Book of Horace.
return to footnote mark
Footnote 2:
Dryden's
All for Love
, Act III. sc. i.
return
Footnote 3:
The Sixth.
return
Footnote 4:
Two stanzas from different parts of Ambrose Philips's sixth
Pastoral
. The first in the original follows the second, with three stanzas intervening.
return
Footnote 5:
(, for want of other Amusement, often study Anatomy together; and what is worse than happens in any other Friendship, they)
return
Contents
In amore hæc omnia insunt vitia: Injuriæ,Suspiciones, Inimicitiæ, Induciæ,Bellum, pax rursum:Ter..translation
I shall publish for the Entertainment of this Day, an odd sort of a Packet, which I have just received from one of my Female Correspondents.
Mr.Spectator,Since you have often confess'd that you are not displeased your Paper should sometimes convey the Complaints of distressed Lovers to each other, I am in Hopes you will favour one who gives you an undoubted Instance of her Reformation, and at the same time a convincing Proof of the happy Influence your Labours have had over the most Incorrigible Part of the most Incorrigible Sex. You must know, Sir, I am one of that Species of Women, whom you have often Characteriz'd under the Name ofJilts, and that I send you these Lines, as well to do Publick Penance for having so long continued in a known Error, as to beg Pardon of the Party offended. I the rather chuse this way, because it in some measure answers the Terms on which he intimated the Breach between us might possibly be made up, as you will see by the Letter he sent me the next Day after I had discarded him; which I thought fit to send you a Copy of, that you might the better know the whole Case.I must further acquaint you, that before I Jilted him, there had been the greatest Intimacy between us for an Year and half together, during all which time I cherished his Hopes, and indulged his Flame. I leave you to guess after this what must be his Surprize, when upon his pressing for my full Consent one Day, I told himI wondered what could make him fancy he had ever any Place in my Affections.His own Sex allow him Sense, and all ours Good-Breeding. His Person is such as might, without Vanity, make him believe himself not incapable to be beloved. Our Fortunes indeed, weighed in the nice Scale of Interest, are not exactly equal, which by the way was the true Case of my Jilting him, and I had the Assurance to acquaint him with the following Maxim,That I should always believe that Man's Passion to be the most Violent, who could offer me the largest Settlement. I have since changed my Opinion, and have endeavoured to let him know so much by several Letters, but the barbarous Man has refused them all; so that I have no way left of writing to him, but by your Assistance. If we can bring him about once more, I promise to send you all Gloves and Favours, and shall desire the Favour of SirRogerand your self to stand as God-Fathers to my first Boy.I am,Sir,Your most Obedientmost Humble Servant,Amoret.PhilandertoAmoret.Madam,I am so surprised at the Question you were pleased to ask me Yesterday, that I am still at a loss what to say to it. At least my Answer would be too long to trouble you with, as it would come from a Person, who, it seems, is so very indifferent to you. Instead of it, I shall only recommend to your Consideration the Opinion of one whose Sentiments on these matters I have often heard you say are extremely just.A generous and Constant Passion, says your favourite Author,in an agreeable Lover, where there is not too great a Disparity in their Circumstances, is the greatest Blessing that can befal a Person beloved; and if overlook'd in one, may perhaps never be found in another.I do not, however, at all despair of being very shortly much better beloved by you thanAntenoris at present; since whenever my Fortune shall exceed his, you were pleased to intimate your Passion would encrease accordingly.The World has seen me shamefully lose that Time to please a fickle Woman, which might have been employed much more to my Credit and Advantage in other Pursuits. I shall therefore take the Liberty to acquaint you, however harsh it may sound in a Lady's Ears, that tho your Love-Fit should happen to return, unless you could contrive a way to make your Recantation as well known to the Publick, as they are already apprised of the manner with which you have treated me, you shall never more seePhilander.AmorettoPhilander.Sir,Upon Reflection, I find the Injury I have done both to you and my self to be so great, that though the Part I now act may appear contrary to that Decorum usually observed by our Sex, yet I purposely break through all Rules, that my Repentance may in some measure equal my Crime. I assure you that in my present Hopes of recovering you, I look uponAntenor'sEstate with Contempt. The Fop was here Yesterday in a gilt Chariot and new Liveries, but I refused to see him. Tho' I dread to meet your Eyes after what has pass'd, I flatter my self, that amidst all their Confusion you will discover such a Tenderness in mine, as none can imitate but those who Love. I shall be all this Month atLady D—'sin the Country; but the Woods, the Fields and Gardens, withoutPhilander, afford no Pleasures to the unhappyAmoret.I must desire you, dear Mr. Spectator, to publish this my Letter to Philander as soon as possible, and to assure him that I know nothing at all of the Death of his rich Uncle in Gloucestershire.
PhilandertoAmoret.Madam,I am so surprised at the Question you were pleased to ask me Yesterday, that I am still at a loss what to say to it. At least my Answer would be too long to trouble you with, as it would come from a Person, who, it seems, is so very indifferent to you. Instead of it, I shall only recommend to your Consideration the Opinion of one whose Sentiments on these matters I have often heard you say are extremely just.A generous and Constant Passion, says your favourite Author,in an agreeable Lover, where there is not too great a Disparity in their Circumstances, is the greatest Blessing that can befal a Person beloved; and if overlook'd in one, may perhaps never be found in another.I do not, however, at all despair of being very shortly much better beloved by you thanAntenoris at present; since whenever my Fortune shall exceed his, you were pleased to intimate your Passion would encrease accordingly.The World has seen me shamefully lose that Time to please a fickle Woman, which might have been employed much more to my Credit and Advantage in other Pursuits. I shall therefore take the Liberty to acquaint you, however harsh it may sound in a Lady's Ears, that tho your Love-Fit should happen to return, unless you could contrive a way to make your Recantation as well known to the Publick, as they are already apprised of the manner with which you have treated me, you shall never more seePhilander.AmorettoPhilander.Sir,Upon Reflection, I find the Injury I have done both to you and my self to be so great, that though the Part I now act may appear contrary to that Decorum usually observed by our Sex, yet I purposely break through all Rules, that my Repentance may in some measure equal my Crime. I assure you that in my present Hopes of recovering you, I look uponAntenor'sEstate with Contempt. The Fop was here Yesterday in a gilt Chariot and new Liveries, but I refused to see him. Tho' I dread to meet your Eyes after what has pass'd, I flatter my self, that amidst all their Confusion you will discover such a Tenderness in mine, as none can imitate but those who Love. I shall be all this Month atLady D—'sin the Country; but the Woods, the Fields and Gardens, withoutPhilander, afford no Pleasures to the unhappyAmoret.